Tales of the Abyss: Blessed Birth
by heroes1202
Summary: Set three years after the game's ending, Luke and Tear are blessed with news of bearing a child. However, Baticul soon comes under attack by a mysterious group of replicas, bearing the faces of the Six God-Generals and Van, seeking vengeance against Luke.
1. Part 1: Kimlasca's Blessing

**_Tales of the Abyss: Blessed Birth_**

**_~ Part 1: Kimlasca's Blessing ~_**

For three years since the fall of the replica land of Eldrant, the people of the planet Auldrant fell into nothing but peace and true prosperity. The two major countries were at perfect harmony with each other as well, nothing ill falling upon either Kimlasca or Malkuth since the peace treaty. We now bring you to the capital of Baticul, precisely three more years since the heir to the Fabre manor, Luke fon Fabre, returned from Eldrant and is hosting a party alongside his friends and beloved wife, Tear Grants. The party was held in the large central courtyard between the Fabre manor and the doors to Baticul Castle.

"Having a good time everyone?" Luke asked, raising a glass in the air. Several of his guests laughed and started to clap, showing signs of enjoying the party. Some of the guests were Luke's friends from his travels, alongside King Ingobert and Emperor Peony, also including several citizens from both Malkuth and Kimlasca. At Luke's side was Tear, gently leaning against him with his arm around her shoulders. She looked up at Luke's smiling face and smiled a bit herself, soon noticed by Luke.

"Hmm? What's with you all of a sudden? You're smiling again. Did I do something stupid?" Luke teased. Tear lightly chuckled and shook her head.

"No. I'm just glad to see you enjoying yourself Luke. Its just didn't feel the same without you those few years." Tear said. Luke smiled, bringing her slightly closer for a hug. From across the courtyard, the eyes of their friends Anise, Jade, Natalia and Guy couldn't resist watching.

"Heh. Luke finally got it through that thick skull of his." Guy said. Natalia chuckled.

"Yes. They truly were meant to be together. To me, looking at Tear, she feels like she has a family again. Luke is apart of it now." Natalia said. Jade smirked, lightly pushing his glasses up onto his face.

"Indeed. Both were without much of actual "blood family" since the escapade with Van. But I think they're doing just fine." Jade said. But as Natalia looked on with a smile, Anise could be seen picking her favorite sweets of a plate in Natalia's hands. Soon enough, however, Natalia's eyes caught on once she heard Anise munching.

"HEY! Anise! Those were MINE! Get your own!" Natalia shouted, raising her plate out of Anise's reach. Anise groaned, reaching up from her tippy toes to try and get at Natalia's plate again. Over the time since their fight with Van, Anise had begun to grow as well, now almost about the same height as Ion was. But she still struggled to reach the plate as Natalia fought her off.

"Boo! Stop being so greedy Natalia! Gimme!" Anise shouted. Natalia scoffed, saying she was hardly being "greedy" compared to her. Suddenly, as Guy looked on, Jade gave him an eerie look.

"Guy? Be a good boy and break up this cat fight. I'd do it myself...but you know these old bones of mine." Jade said. Guy gawked slightly before sighing heavily.

"Man. Why can't you ever do anything yourself?" Guy groaned. Luke and Tear watched their friends before lightly chuckling.

"Honestly...I feel like we're the only ones who ever changed. Those four look like time's standing still for them." Luke said. From behind, Luke felt a tug at his jacket and turned around, seeing the cute and tiny Mieu on the table sitting behind. The Sorceror's Ring was around his tummy.

"Master! Aren't you gonna tell everyone the great news?" Mieu asked, his ears abuzz with excitement. Luke seemed a bit dumbfounded at first, reminded by a gentle nudge from Tear.

"Don't you remember Luke? It was about...you know..." Tear muttered, rubbing her stomach lightly. Luke took one look at Tear and smiled, giving a nod.

"Okay. I remember. All right then Mieu? Care to help with the announcement?" Luke asked, preparing a spot on his shoulder for Mieu to jump onto. In the small Cheagle's hands was a glass and fork, banging it to gather everyone's attention, halting the "cat fight" between Anise and Natalia.

"Listen everyone! Master's got big news to tell you all!" Mieu cried. But soon, the glass slipped from his hand and fell to the floor by Luke's feet, shattering in an instant. Quietness filled the air as Mieu stood motionless.

"Oopsie..." Mieu muttered, soon leaping away from embarrassment. The guests started to laugh at Mieu's cute act, including Luke and Tear themselves.

"Heh. We should be glad there was nothing in it." Luke smirked. But after letting the last of his chuckle out, Luke cleared his throat and drew everyone's attention again.

"Everyone? Tear and I have an announcement we'd like to make. From our last recent trip to Kimlasca's finest doctors, as well as being the reason for our celebration in the first place, we just found out that my wife Tear is about to give birth in less than a week now." Luke said. The news spread through the crowds of guests fast, all congratulating Tear with waves of applause. Guy and the others stopped to clap themselves.

"Wow! So does that mean Tear's going to be a mother now?" Anise asked. A voice from behind chuckled, betting she probably would be. Anise quickly turned around and saw Florian, the last replica of Fon Master Ion, standing behind her. He now wore the garments of the Fon Master, but retained a different, more slender hairstyle opposed to Ion to tell them apart.

"Oh! Florian, there you are. I was wondering where you went off too all of a sudden." Anise said. Florian smiled.

"It may very well mean it Anise. I bet they're very happy." Natalia said with a sigh "I'm actually a little jealous myself." Jade smirked, adjusting his glasses.

"Then what's keeping you and Guy so long Natalia? Surely the king isn't to disapprove of the two of you." Jade said. Natalia suddenly started to blush, quivering a bit before looking away. Guy looked on at Jade.

"You really know how to upset a woman, don't you Jade?" Guy asked. Jade glanced at him with a grin.

"What do you mean? You're the one who said that out loud in front of Natalia. Shame on you Guy." Jade said. Guy groaned, wishing Jade would act his age for once. Jade chuckled, saying he does act his age, to which Guy sighs heavily.

**_~ TALES OF THE ABYSS ~_**

As the party continued on in full swing, everyone full of happiness and cheer, we turn our attention to the outskirts of Baticul. Approaching the city from the lower quarter was a group of strange figures in large draping robes. They each wore a mask over their faces, marked differently with what appeared to be large, black roman numbers on them. Viewing a quick head count, there were seven figures all together.

"So...we have arrived at last...Baticul, the Kingdom of Light." the leader said, marked with a "I" on the right side of its mask. The group continued on, seeming to just lumber along towards the city. But at the gates before them, a group of Kimlasca soldiers stood guard with spears in hand.

"Huh? Halt! Who goes there?" one shouted, joined by the others in cutting off the group. But without a word, the leader slowly reached from under his cloak and took off his mask, momentarily stunning the guards.

"Wh-What? YOU?" one called. Suddenly, before they knew what happened, two more of the cloaked members lunged at them with weapons drawn and quickly dispatched of them, cutting them down to clear the way.

"Thank you Three and Six. I did not feel like stopping to chat." the leader said. Three, marked by a "III" under its left eye, nodded.

"Yes. We should continue on. Baticul Castle is not much farther from here." Three said. Six, a large hulking figure with the marking "VI" across the center of his face, looked up at the large towering structures through Baticul, seeing the castle sticking out the most.

"Come. Our dear "friend", Luke fon Fabre, is waiting for us." the leader muttered. The group continued further into the city, their focus set on reaching Baticul Castle. Meanwhile, back outside the castle, we find Luke and Tear sitting together at a nearby table with their friends sitting alongside them.

"So Tear...any word from the doctor about your "little blessing"? Like whether they can tell if it'll be a boy or girl?" Guy asked. Tear lightly blushed, looking away slightly.

"W-Well...he never said anything like that. But...he did say something. And...I've been keeping it a secret from Luke." Tear said. Luke looked to Tear, asking what sort of "secret" it was. But Tear wouldn't tell, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"You'll know when the baby comes Luke. You're going to be the proudest father of all Baticul." Tear said. Natalia sighed, stirring her cup of tea with a spoon.

"Tear? I'm just going to come out and say it. I'm jealous of you. I wish I could know what it feels like to be a mother-to-be." Natalia said. Anise smirked, asking if Natalia was that much of a "lonely little princess" after all. Natalia groaned, flustering red as Tear smiled.

"Well, Natalia, to tell the truth...its a nice feeling. Knowing that soon, you'll be bringing new life to the world is sure to be the happiest moment of your entire life." Tear muttered, resting her hands on her stomach. She then look to Natalia, saying that she bet she'd make a great mother too. Luke smiled.

"Not to mention Mieu will have someone his size to play with. I'm sure he'll be great friends with the baby." Luke added, making the nearby Cheagle smile. But a tint of Jade's glasses quickly ended it.

"OR this could mean Mieu will be the baby's first "plaything", given the kind of rough behavior a certain red haired idiot gave to him when they first met." Jade said. The others groaned, Anise turning to Jade.

"Come on Colonel. When are you gonna stop teasing Luke and act mature? I'm still creeped out by the fact that I even KNOW you." Anise said. Suddenly, Luke's nose picked up the faint scent of smoke. He looked off towards the nearby elevators and suddenly saw small black orbs thrown into the air, lit by a fuse. He gasped.

"Look out!" Luke exclaimed. His friends quickly looked up and gasped, evacuating from the table as the bombs came down and destroyed the table they were seated at. The sudden explosion startled many of the guests as well.

"Wh-What's going on here?" King Ingobert asked. Guards from the castle suddenly came rushing over to the scene, surrounding Ingobert and Peony. Jade soon saw there were more ofthe bombs launched into the air.

"Here comes some more! Anise!" Jade called. Anise nodded and pulled Tokunaga off her back. The doll quickly grew large and swatted the bombs away with its giant arms, safely diverting the blasts from the guests. Luke groaned, standing with his arm shielding Tear.

"Luke? What's going on? Who would be attacking us?" Tear asked. Luke's eyes narrowed, betting they'd know in a few seconds. All eyes remained facing the steps leading to the courtyard, eventually hearing the faint sound of slow clapping as the cloaked group approached the scene.

"Well, well...we meet at last...Luke fon Fabre, one of the last replicas left in all of Auldrant." the leader muttered. Luke quietly groaned.

"What's the meaning of this? Identify yourselves now!" Peony shouted. However, just looking at how the group was focused on Luke instead of him, Peony knew they were ignoring him.

"Excuse me. But this is a party celebrating my wife's future birth. And I don't think we invited a bunch of party poopers like you to come and trash everyone's fun." Luke said. The leader chuckled.

"No. You are correct. We came of our own free will. But...then again, with the fun you and your "guests" were having, how else would we get your attention?" he asked. Anise groaned.

"So you think setting off a couple of fire crackers would get our attention? What a shrewd way." Jade said.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" Luke asked. The cloaked group remained dead silent, facing Luke's party before the leader put his hand to his mask.

"We are the last of your kind, the final replicas born before you silenced our race's blossoming population." he said "And we are here...for vengeance against you traitor." The mask slowly came off, revealing the leader's face again. But the mere sight of it stunned everyone around Luke.

"Wh-What?" Guy gasped.

"No...Impossible!" Natalia stuttered. Tear was speechless, standing behind Luke as he and the others looked on in fright. The face of the leader, "One", was the face of General Van Grants. But on his face was a small metal chip under his right eye and his eyes glowed red.

"M-Master Van?" Luke gasped.

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


	2. Part 2: Ghosts of the Past

**__****_Tales of the Abyss: Blessed Birth_**

**_~ Part 2: Ghosts of the Past ~_**

Luke and friends were overwhelmed by shock to see the leader of a band of replica invaders to be the deceased face of Tear's own brother, Van Grants. A light flick of his arm reveals a replica of Van's sword at his waist, which he proceeds to draw.

"B-But this is impossible! How can there be a replica of my brother here?" Tear asked. Luke groaned, slowly bringing his hand to the sheath of his sword. The other six around Van's replica slowly reached for their masks as well.

"Not just Van...but US as well." Three muttered, taking off his mask. The others all gasped from shock, seeing the faces of each member. Besides Van, Three revealed himself to be Sync, Six revealed himself as Largo, Five revealed her face to be Arietta, Four beared the face of Legretta and Seven revealed his face as Asch.

"What? The God-Generals too?" Guy asked. Anise began trembling at the sight of her departed friend.

"B-But...no. Arietta...not you too." Anise muttered. Natalia looked in fear at Asch's cold stare. Each of the replicas beared a small metal chip somewhere on their faces.

"This is not good. How is it there are replicas of Van AND his God-Generals?" Jade thought, examining their faces. Just then, he heard a "familiar" laugh coming from Two, the only masked replica left. He took hold of his mask and pulled it off quickly.

"Oh come now Jade. You know you AREN'T the only to dabble in fomicry." he chuckled. Jade's eyes narrowed as he saw, behind Two's mask, the face of Dist.

"Hmph. I should have known." Jade said. Natalia gasped.

"No! Dist replicated himself?" Natalia asked. Luke looked quietly at Asch's face, seeing hardly any life in his stare.

"Asch...what has this psycho done to you?" Luke thought. Dist chuckled and approached the group.

"Yes. As you're no doubt guessing Jade, the original Dist is no longer with us...passed away a lonely man. But LONG before any of that, he gave birth to all of us...data he'd taken from his cohorts in crime. We were programmed to awaken once our father, the "original" Dist, left this world." Dist explained. He slowly extended one arm out, showing a small glowing purple gem in his hand.

"Wh-What's that?" Tear asked. Dist chuckled.

"And now that we're here...Luke fon Fabre...it is time. JOIN US!" he chuckled, suddenly causing the gem to give off a giant flash. Everyone turned away and shielded their eyes, but even though Luke did likewise, his eyes flashed open and they gave a faint purple glow. He looked back to Dist, Florian doing the same, as the light faded.

"Man! That was bright!" Guy groaned, rubbing his eyes. Tear looked to Luke and gasped, seeing his eyes turning solid purple.

"Luke? What's wrong?" Tear asked "Luke?" But Luke did not make a sound, staring dead as a drone at Dist's gem. Dist began to snicker.

"Sorry. But Luke's not home right now. Care to leave a message? Though...I doubt he'll ever get back to you. As of now, he's on OUR side!" Dist exclaimed, bursting into a psychotic laugh as Luke suddenly drew his sword, bringing it close to Tear's neck. Everyone gasped.

"L-LUKE!" King Ingobert exclaimed. The others around Luke couldn't believe their eyes. Mieu was at a lost for words as well.

"Luke! What are you...? Snap out of it!" Anise exclaimed. Tear beganto shudder, feeling the cold steel against her neck.

"Luke...please...don't..." Tear muttered, beginning to shed small tears.

**_~ TALES OF THE ABYSS ~_**

Jade looked closely at Luke's glowing eyes and at the jewel in Jade's hand.

"Hmph. This cannot be good. Dist's replica is using highly concentrated seventh fonons in that rock. No doubt the original Dist must've designed it to corrupt the mind of any pre-made replicas to bend to his will when activated." Jade thought. Dist chuckled.

"Now "Luke", as part of your punishment for betraying your fellow brethren, you will do EXACTLY as we say. Our first command? KILL her." Dist sneered. Tear gulped as Luke's sword glinted against the sunlight. He slowly drew it back, quickly taking grip of Tear's dress with his other hand.

"N-No! Luke! Stop!" Natalia exclaimed. But just as Luke swung his blade, Guy intervened with his own and cut it off before reaching Tear's neck.

"Stop this Luke! Come back to us!" Guy exclaimed, struggling against Luke. But Luke growled, narrowing his eyes as he gripped his sword with both hands. Guy groaned.

"You idiot! This isn't you! You know you'd NEVER hurt Tear! Don't tell me you're dumb enough to let HIM control you like a puppet!" Guy shouted. Dist chuckled, waving the gem tauntingly in his fingers.

"Apparently...he IS. Come now Luke. What's the hold up? Just kill her already!" Sync shouted. Luke suddenly kicked Guy away, knocking his sword from his hand upon impact. He then locked eyes on Tear.

"Luke! S-Stop! Don't do it!" Tear stuttered. But Luke was ready to strike again, raising his sword above his head with both arms. The others gasped.

"No! Don't tell me he's going to do it!" Susanne thought, watching from nearby with her husband. Tear's eyes filled with tears, seeing Luke about to kill her.

"Please Luke. Snap out of it. Come back to me..." Tear muttered. Luke roared and swung his sword at her. But as Anise was ready to intervene, Tear ducked past the blade and hugged Luke tightly. She locked his arms in close, causing him to drop his sword.

"Tear!" Guy exclaimed. Luke growled, struggling to break free of Tear. But she fought to hang on.

"Luke! Can you hear me? Please! Stop this! Get control of yourself!" Tear shouted. Dist groaned, ordering Luke to cease his "foolishness" and kill her.

"Don't listen to him! You're better than this Luke! I KNOW you are! Think about everything you've been through! Remember everyone here who cares about you! Don't let them see you like this! Like...a monster!" Tear shouted. Luke glared angrily at Tear, suddenly freeing his hands and grabbing her neck.

"T-Tear!" Anise exclaimed. But Jade rested his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from advancing.

"You're...You're not some cheap replica that they can control! You're my husband! D-Don't tell me you forgot that!" Tear exclaimed. Somehow, her words seemed to hit home with Luke, causing him to freeze in place.

"A-And...you're soon to be a father. Please...I...I beg you. Don't take your child's life...alongside your wife's. We...We looked forward to this for so long...remember?" Tear asked. She looked on at Luke, slowly releasing his grip around her neck. His eyes began flashing between purple and his original color when suddenly, he grabbed Tear and pulled her in close for a hug, shutting them entirely.

"Tear...I'm...I'm sorry..." Luke muttered. Everyone gasped, including Dist himself, as Luke's eyes opened again, revealing their original color. Tear's eyes began welling up.

"I don't know what happened. I...I just felt like my whole free will was gone. I...I couldn't control myself." Luke said. Tear sniffled.

"It...It's okay. You're back now." Tear muttered. Dist growled, frantically waving the gem about.

"C-Come on you stupid thing! You're supposed to let me control him! Why AREN'T you working?" Dist exclaimed. But suddenly, he saw what appeared to be Jade's spear launched his way. Dist screamed and ducked away, releasing the gem before it was shattered by the spear. He shrieked, watching its shards fall to the ground. Without anyone realizing it, the gem's destruction freed Florian as well.

"Huh? Wh-Whuh?" Florian muttered.

**_~ TALES OF THE ABYSS ~_**

Dist looked at the gem shards scattered across the ground before looking at Jade with rage in his eyes.

"Y-You! Jade the Necromancer! How DARE you!" Dist exclaimed. Jade huffed, calling his spear back with a flick of the wrist.

"How dare YOU try and control my good friend with some petty mind control. If I know one thing from being with Luke, he's too much of a block head to let something like that take control of him so easily." Jade said. Dist growled, seething over with rage. But from behind, Van's replica reached for his sword and drew it without a sound.

"Dist...your plan has failed. Step aside and let us do what we should have done from the start." Van said. Luke and Tear watched cautiously as Dist turned back to Van and the other replicas.

"Wh-What? What makes you think YOU can give me orders? Remember! My ORIGINAL was the one who created you!" Dist exclaimed. But he could see the unwavering glare in their eyes.

"F-Fine! Let's!" Dist groaned, looking back at Luke. The group quickly drew their weapons, staring down Van and the replicas.

"Please! Surely we can talk this out! We do not wish to kill you!" Natalia pleaded "We promised your brethren at the Tower of Rem that we would make our world a safe place for all future replicas!" But none of them seemed to consider talking.

"Probably ought to save your breath Natalia. They don't look like the kind who'd listen." Anise said. Arietta glared angrily at Anise.

"Anise! Don't think I don't know what you did to my original! I WILL avenge her and everyone else you killed! Your day of death is today!" Arietta shouted. Guy groaned, glaring right at Sync. From behind Luke, Tear looked on at Legretta's replica.

"Major...how could you let Dist clone you like this? This doesn't feel right." Tear muttered. But suddenly, Luke looked over to King Ingobert nearby and gave a light nod, hinting towards Tear. The king understood and looked to a pair of knights nearby.

"Men? Pleas escort Miss Tear away from here." he ordered. The knights nodded and rushed over towards Tear, surprising her as they asked her to come with them.

"W-What? Luke! What are you...?" Tear asked.

"Tear? Please don't hate me for this. But I don't want you in the fight, especially when you're so close to giving birth. I can't risk losing you." Luke said. Tear lightly gasped before quickly trying to tell Luke that she can fight and she wouldn't be a burden.

"No! Tear! Please listen to me and go inside the castle! I almost killed you against my will! If Dist tries that again, I don't know how quickly I could snap back out of it! Please!" Luke shouted. Tear was deaf silent after that, eyed by the others as well. She sighed.

"Fine. Just promise me you'll come out of this alive..." Tear said. Luke nodded, promising he would. Tear smiled, glancing back at Luke as she walked off with the knights.

"Go get them...you idiot..." Tear muttered. With Tear safely out of the fight, Luke and friends turned back to Van's group, preparing for an all out war.

**_TO BE CONTINUED..._**


End file.
